Hi, I'm Nick — a musician running this under my Tiny Vinyl Collective banner.

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I'd love to invite you to be part of a Tiny Vinyl Session.

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Tiny Vinyl Sessions are intimate, stripped-back recording sessions filmed in local venues outside trading hours — but the key thing to know up front is that they're a collaboration, not a recording of your set.

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Each session captures a snapshot in time:

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• 2–3 songs (can be all originals, all covers or a mix)

• A conversation about the tunes and your life in music

• Released as a 3-track EP (Spotify, Apple, Youtube etc.) + a podcast/video episode

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I don't just point cameras at you while you play. I come in as host and musical director: I learn your songs, bring arrangement ideas, play on the tracks (bass, guitar, uke, vocals, random instruments), and we reimagine your music together for this one moment. If you've come across sessions like this before, you might be picturing playing your usual set while someone films — and that's not really what this is. You're a co-creator here, not just the artist in front of the camera. The magic is in what we build together. If you're looking for promo footage, we offer it as a service here, but the sessions are built to create and collaborate.

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That also means no looping. Everything you hear is played live in the room — by you, me, and whoever else we bring in. If a part needs to be there, someone plays it. It's real musicians making real music together, in a moment.

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Think Scary Pockets / NPR Tiny Desk / Triple J Like A Version / BBC Live Lounge / Sofar Sounds — but with our own flavour.

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What We're Actually Making

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This part matters, so I want to be upfront:

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A Tiny Vinyl Session isn't a document of your usual live set. It's a collaboration — a one-off arrangement of your songs that we build together for this one moment, and that lives on as its own artefact.

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That means the version of your song that ends up on the recording will probably be different from how you usually play it. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. A huge produced track might pull right back to voice and guitar. A solo acoustic tune might pick up a cajón, harmonies, or a reharm. A cover might land somewhere unrecognisable from the original.

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The spirit is to lean into a bit of creative discomfort — to mess with the song, try things you wouldn't usually try, and trust that something honest comes out of the stretch. If you're protective of how a song "should" sound, this probably isn't the right fit. If you're up for treating your songs as raw material to play with, you'll love it.

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The Heart of It

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• The point isn't perfect takes. It's the imperfections, the jam, and the collaboration.

• Originals: Bring them into the jam room rather than in their finished form. We'll explore how they work in a stripped-back, reimagined setting.

• Covers: Best avoided if they sit too close to the original recording. Reharm it, change the groove, find new textures — make it yours.

• Songs are reflections, not their "official history" — bring your current relationship with them.

• Instruments stay in our hands during the chats. We'll play through ideas, get technical, break down parts.

• I'll bring questions of my own from learning your tunes — about lyrics, choices, details I noticed.

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How It Works

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• Host & Musical Director: I'll guide the session, and can play bass, acoustic/electric guitar, ukulele, and sing lead or BVs.

• Players & The Collective: Sometimes it's just you and me. Other times I'll bring in extra players — percussion, cajón, bass, keys — drawing from the Tiny Vinyl Collective. The lineup is shaped around the songs. If you have band members or a musical partner you want to include, let me know.

• Arrangement Ideas: I'll always have thoughts — reharms, grooves, twists — but I'm never attached. We go with what feels right.

• Pre-Session Chat: Before we lock anything in, we'll talk through your comfort level and map out a vision for the session.

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The Rehearsal Arc

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Most sessions follow a three-rehearsal structure. We lock in the tunes ahead of the first rehearsal so we can hit the ground running.

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Rehearsal 1 — Explore. This one's loose. We mess with the songs, try arrangements, throw ideas at the wall, find the vibe. Nothing is precious yet.

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Rehearsal 2 — Refine. We see what stuck from R1 and build on it. Arrangements start taking shape. We make decisions.

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Rehearsal 3 — Dress. A run-through close to how we'll record it. Headphone mixes get dialled in, levels balanced, parts solidified.

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Three rehearsals is the norm but not a rule. If a session calls for more, less, or a different shape, we adapt.

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On-the-Day Flow

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• Setup: ~1–2 hrs

• Recording: 2–4 hrs (2–3 songs + conversation)

• Pack down: ~1–2 hrs

• Total: Allow 6–8 hrs on site

• Recorded in a local venue outside trade hours, so there's no disruption to them.

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After the Session — In Post

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This is where a lot of the work happens, and I want you to know how much care goes in.

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I handle all of it myself — the audio mixes, the video edit, and the edit of the conversation. The goal in post isn't just to tidy up a live recording. I'm treating these tracks like a record. That means I take real care with the mixes, and I'll potentially comp takes together to get the best possible version of a performance — because a full record is genuinely what I'm setting out to make.

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As I work through it, I'll check in with you — sharing mixes, video edits, and the conversation cut as they come together. You get the final say on all of it. This is not a "gotcha" podcast. If there's a moment in the chat you'd rather wasn't in there, or something in a mix or the video that's bothering you, we'll just talk about it. Nothing gets released that you're not happy with.

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One honest bit of advice for when you watch and listen back: most musicians have a brutal inner critic, and hearing yourself can bring it right out. Before you give me notes, show the cuts to someone you trust — someone who knows you and won't hear the "mistakes" you're hearing. They'll usually give you a far more objective read than your own ears will. Same goes for the conversation: run it past a few people first. More often than not, the thing you're worried about is the thing everyone else loves.

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Practical Stuff

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• Covers: Share your key in advance so we can plan instrumentation.

• Headphone Mixes: Each player has their own custom in-ear mix.

• No looping.

• Filming: Performances plus behind-the-scenes — setup, laughs, in-between moments — for a documentary-style edit.

• Timing: Sessions usually run mid-week, mornings or afternoons (Tues–Thurs), or whenever a venue's downtime allows.

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A note on commitment

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A Session has a lot of moving parts, and most of them are invisible by the time you walk in the door. Before we record, I'm coordinating venue access and contacts, booking players, lining up roaming videographers, learning your music so I can arrange and play it properly, and putting in my own time and money. On the day itself I'm wearing every hat at once — running the audio capture, setting up and maintaining mics, dialling in everyone's headphone mixes, keeping cameras rolling, watching the recordings, troubleshooting gear — all while playing in the session too.

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None of that is meant to feel like pressure — I just want you to know it's a genuine production, not a casual jam. So the two things I ask: come prepared and having spent real time with the tunes, and if something ever changes on your end, tell me as early as you possibly can. A heads-up with notice means I can adapt. A last-minute cancellation means a lot of organised pieces — and real costs — fall through.

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I'll always treat your session with care. I just ask for the same in return, and then we're set up for something great.

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The Spirit

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Tiny Vinyl Sessions isn't about myths or perfect takes.

It's about real musicians, willing to step sideways from their usual setup and make something new — together, in a room, in a moment.

Each session is less a polished product and more a timestamp: imperfect, collaborative, alive.